Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso is surprised by his pace straight out of the box in today’s opening Motegi MotoGP free practice sessions but says he still needs to improve in some areas in order to fight for the podium.

The Italian held on to second place using the medium tyre in second practice and then switched to the soft in order to set a blistering time some four-tenths faster than Jorge Lorenzo in order to lead going into free practice three tomorrow.

“We’re really comfortable. We were second until the last five minutes where everybody had the same tyres and I was able to make a similar lap time about the pace. I am a little bit surprised but I am happy about our speed,” said Dovi, speaking at Motegi.

“We start with a good setup about the chassis and electronics, and this help me to be fast from the beginning. It is a good start but we have to improve a little to fight for the podium.

“The new chassis didn’t change how I have to ride the bike, but it is better than last year so I am able to brake and accelerate more.”

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